Januray 10th, 2013 Rhino Beetle
 

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The Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) is the most famous and largest of the rhinoceros beetles. It is native to the rainforests of Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles. The beetle has also been observed as far north as Southern Arizona, in the county of Pima. Their title is well deserved, with some (exceptionally rare) males reaching 6.75 inches (17 cm) in length. It is the largest of the 6 species in the Dynastes genus, and one of the largest beetles known, being exceeded in length by only two other beetles in the family Cerambycidae, Macrodontia cervicornis (specimens of 17–17.5 cm are known) and Titanus giganteus (also up to 17–17.5 cm; several 18+ cm specimens are reputed/alleged to exist). However, if the horns are excluded, both Macrodontia Cervicornis and Dynastes Hercules drop considerably farther down in the size rankings, leaving the titan beetle on top. One reason for this is that the development of the horns is allometric, as well as sexually dimorphic, and thus not strictly correlated to actual body size; it is possible for a female to be much longer, measured from eyes to abdomen, than a male, yet be considered “smaller” simply due to the absence of horns. As noted above, Hercules beetles are highly sexually dimorphic, with the females generally being larger-bodied but much shorter, as they lack horns entirely. The larval stage of the Hercules beetle will last one to two years, with the larva growing up to 4.5 inches (11 cm) in length and weighing up to 120 grams (0.26 lbs). Much of the life of the larva is spent tunneling through its primary food source of rotting wood. After the larval period, transformation into a pupa, and molting, the beetle then emerges as an adult. Adults will roam the forest floor in search of decaying fruit...

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Interesting. I didn't know that Rhino had any Beatles stuff in their catalog.

Darn it, Pete ... I was ABOUT to say...

Imagine swallowing one of those suckers in your sleep!

eta: does it still qualify as an insect?

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They have these in Tucson?!

It seems too fantastic to be real -- like those spider things the GIs photograph in the Middle East.

It doesn't seem like there should be anything creepy about them since they don't consider us (peoples) to be prey, but still . . . ick!

That is longer than 6.75 inches in length.

It might be. They are using the fisherman trick of holding the fish close to the camera to make it look bigger. It's the size of a shoulder pad in a man's sports jacket.

No. Really? No.

Them's some fancy camera tricks to make it cover his entire shoulder and back like that. Of course, the camera adds ten pounds. ;)

It doesn't cover his back at all. It's just on his shoulder. It's about the size of a hand. Put your hand on your shoulder and compare what your hand covers to what this bug covers. They are about the same size.

And now you have me doubting myself. So I Google image searched it.

Check out other pictures of the same guy and same bug here. It's much smaller in these other pics.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyng883/133056124/

Looked at your link. It's still a nasty big as hell alien creature.

Poor beetle is missing a leg!

Orchis Simia sniffer? Monkey balls?

I had to look it up. Still, monkey balls may smell better.

Smell better than an Orchid? :eyebrow: Probably! :3eye:

I have to call you out for being unobservant. :facepalm: I have been an Orchis Simia sniffer since it was an image of the day I posted ...maybe a year ago? ;)

Consider me called out. In my defense I was looking a bit lower than your user title :blush:
But then consider this description of that particular orchid:

Gardenia sniffing, on the other hand, could go on forever with a side of lotus.

I, too, only noticed it with this thread. I did notice it before footfootfoot posted about it.

I think it's beautiful.
It's large enough for me to count it as an animal (like a tarantula doesn't really say "spider" to me) but it's harmlesss to humans.

I likey.

I know what you mean, a tarantula doesn't really say "spider" to me, either, as much as I say, "Holy shit!" to it.

They've got one at our local library. I gets out of its terrarium occasionally. It turns up in odd places.

I've handled a tarantula. She was beautiful.
Didn't look too closely at the eyes though. Eight eyes freak me out.
I don't even like close-ups of the harmless biders we get here, which I am frequently called on to remove from home and classroom. I'm not the school's only spider-wrangler, but in KS1 I am closest and known not to bodge the job.